Looking down at the 1977 "L"
accident from the downtown offices of the Central Electric
Railfans' Association.(Photo by M.
Charnota)

Perhaps the most remembered and most infamous "L"
accident of recent memory is that which occurred on the curve at
Wabash and Lake on the evening of February 4, 1977. Nothing quite
like it had ever happened on the elevated and hasn't been repeated to
this day: the unusual circumstances, the level of damage, the numbers
injured and killed.

On this particular day, switching problems had
caused Evanston Express trains to operate counterclockwise around the
outer loop track instead of clockwise on the inner, as normal. The
problem was corrected at approximately 5:10pm, but a few Evanston
trains that had already begun their trip around the Loop were
continuing to operate on the outer track. As can be imagined, the
extra trains on the outer track caused some minor delays.

At approximately 5:25pm, one such Evanston Express
was loading and unloading passengers at the State/Lake
station. A Ravenswood train was following and had stopped on the
track behind the Evanston Express, waiting for the Evanston to clear
the station so that it could pull in. At the same time, an Oak
Park-bound Lake-Dan Ryan train was boarding and alighting riders at
the Randolph/Wabash
station, two blocks away and around the bend from State/Lake.

The motorman of the Lake-Dan Ryan - one Stephan A.
Martin, age 34, a motorman since 1969 - completed his station duties
and pulled his train out of Randolph/Wabash.
Somehow, it escaped his attention that there was a train stopped on
the tracks ahead, although this information was being relayed to him
both visually and audibly by the new automatic cab signaling system
installed in his motor cab. He proceeded against the restrictive
signal at a speed of less than 15mph (thus staying under signal
control), around the Lake & Wabash curve, into collision with the
stopped Ravenswood train at 5:27pm.

Making matters worse, Martin continued to apply
motor power, even after the collision! The 8-car Lake-Dan Ryan, with
2,500 kw of power behind it, pushed against the immovable Ravenswood
train. This application of power, coupled with the fact that the
train was on a 100 ft. radius elevated curve, caused the tubular
coupling bar between the first and second cars to buckle, pushing the
rear of the first car and the front of the second into the air. The
first three cars were lifted sufficiently upwards and outwards that
they jackknifed and crashed to the street below, the fourth car
(still coupled to the rest of the train) hanging precariously between
the elevated structure and the street below. The last four cars
stayed on the tracks, still berthed at the Randolph/Wabash
station platform.

Barbara Coats, 35, a passenger in the first car of
the Lake-Dan Ryan train, said after the accident, "It wasn't a big
impact, but it was like we hit something and couldn't go any farther.
After the front wheel went off, I was just praying we couldn't fall
off - but we did."

Ambulances and police rushed to the scene in
minutes, the ambulances lining up on Lake Street waiting to move the
dead and injured. Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn called an immediate
extra alarm to hurry needed man power to the intersection, which was
blocked by the wreckage. Police and firemen worked for two hours to
free persons trapped in the wreckage, chopping holes in the tops of
the elevated cars to extricate victims.

Some people were treated on the street before
being loaded into ambulances. Other were taken into nearby stores and
restaurants, which were turned into makeshift infirmaries. Joining
the city departments already at the scene were Mayor Michael Bilandic
and Cardinal Cody, who, along with other priests, administered last
rites to some of the victims.

In all, eleven persons were killed (though the
newspapers mistakenly reported twelve, initially) and 180 were
injured in what has been the worst "L" accident to date.

Through the cooperation of several agencies, the
site was completely cleared of all wreckage and debris in about
twelve hours and normal operations were restored by 6:30am the next
morning.

The cars involved in the accident were impounded
at the Skokie
Shops yard, pending investigation of the
crash. The first four cars, 2000-series
unit 2043-2044 and 2200-series
unit 2289-2290, were so badly damaged that they were removed from
service and eventually scrapped. The rest of the cars were repairable
and were eventually returned to service.

Stephan Martin, the Lake-Dan Ryan motorman, had a
poor safety record including such things as a prior derailment and
several violations for reading while in motion. He had four marijuana
cigarettes in his shoulder bag, and drug tests showed he had used
marijuana, but not other drugs or alcohol. His conductor, who had
eaten lunch with him, testified they had not smoked marijuana during
lunch.

Martin was ultimately held responsible, though the
report from the National Transportation Safety Board did not address
the issue of how the accident could have occurred if the cab signal
was giving a restrictive indication. Some CTA officials felt the
accident could have occurred if Martin had remained at a slow enough
speed to override the automatic signal, then quickly applied power
when pushing against the immovable Ravenswood train. (The way the cab
signals originally worked, a motorman had a couple seconds to slow
down or stop -- depending on the situation -- when he received a
restrictive signal or the train's breaks would automatically engage.
But, on occasion, the cab signal system would receive "ghost
signals," an indication that there was a train ahead when there
really wasn't. So, if this was the case, a motorman could proceed
"on-sight" at under 15 mph against a restrictive signal as long as he
makes a full stop first.)

The popular theory of what happened goes
like so: the motorman, while approaching the Randolph/Wabash
station, got a restrictive signal indication and the alarm in his cab
went off. But, making the normal station stop, he inadvertently
overrode the signal, which allowed him to proceed. He left the
station and proceeded under 15 mph, which prevented the automatic
braking from engaging. What happened next is open to speculation.
Some say that Martin, who was known to talk to passengers (especially
female ones) while motoring, was doing just that while approaching
the Ravenswood train ahead and didn't see the impending collision.
When his train struck the stopped Ravenswood, it is believed that he
either panicked and accidentally applied more power instead of
braking or that the sheer force of the impact threw him forward and,
as a result of his hand being on the Cineston controller, threw the
control forward as well.

These exact details cannot and perhaps will never
be 100% confirmed. But, as a result of this accident, motorman can no
longer proceed on their own "on-sight" against a red signal. A new
rule, Rule 6.4, was put in the CTA rule book. This regulation says
that when a motorman receives a false red signal, he must call the
Control Center to get permission to proceed. A light in the cab
labeled "R6.4" lights up and only on permission from control can he
proceed at under 15 mph against the signal. This situation is often
referred to as "getting an 'R6.4'."

Such an accident is unusual for a number of
reasons, but especially for how such a complicated automatic signal
system was unable to prevent the occurrence. It also stressed that
any signal system, no matter how complex, can not prevent every
circumstance and reasserted the importance of proper and thorough
training. Thus, this type of incident is unlikely to be repeated any
time in the future...

Its undercarriage twisted by
the impact, the Lake-Dan Ryan car is upended above Wabash
Avenue. Two firemen assist a passenger from one of the exit
doors. Impact startled patrons at adjacent restaurants at
height of rush hour. (Photo from the
Chicago Tribune)

2200-series
unit 2289-2290 sits in the Skokie
Shops yard in June 1977, awaiting
to be scrapped after the infamous crash that February at the
Wabash/Lake curve in the Loop. (Photo
by Peter Vesic)